


Sanguine

by Destux



Series: Smile at Hope in the Name of Hope [5]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst and Tragedy, Cliche(?), Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Guilt, Kamunami Week, Kamunami Week 2019, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 13:50:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17982266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destux/pseuds/Destux
Summary: Prompt 5: Comfort/Appreciation/“I’m here for you”Amidst the pink haze of illusions, she reaches out a hand to pull him out of his thoughts even with everything he’s done to her.What lies beyond the other side of this trick of the eye?





	Sanguine

**Author's Note:**

> T/W: Minor blood and dark topics ahead. Proceed with caution.
> 
> Please read my previous entry, “Friction”, first before proceeding since this contains spoilers for that fic!

Colors splash on the calm waters, creating a ripple on the calm medium. Something solid turned to a thin layer of liquid. The colors continued to melt and made a vibrant mess of five different hues of paint; although, the waters seemed calmer than usual when the drops have settled on the viscous concoction.

He was unimpressed with the results. This abstraction merely served to obfuscate his reflection when he gazed on the waters. If this was an attempt on making him gaze at “art”, he would critique it as “too boring”, but so was everything else in this lake surrounded by tall trees.

What surprised him, however, was when he felt slender fingers brush over his back. Was he so immersed with staring at this lake that he forgot that danger lurks at every corner of this swamp? He stood up and looked behind him only to see more trees and the hot pink sky overhead. He saw nothing that resembled a hand that touched him even though he tried to gaze into the patterned environment of lines.

“Over here, Kamukura-chan!” beckoned an all-too-familiar voice. He quickly traced where this voice came from and looked back towards the lake, only to notice a little girl grab him by the sides of his robe and attempt to gain his attention by pulling on it. “Wow… So soft! I want one!”

When he titled his head down to see the innocent child rubbing her cheek on the black robe he donned in glee, he furrowed his eyebrows deeper. Why would she want one when she already has another robe made from the same type of material? “What is it?”

The girl ceased her childish actions and looked up at the man. If he looked carefully, he noticed that the moment she did, he swore that she grew a little taller and her body was slowly morphing into the woman he held deep affections for. Her mouth opened in surprise as if she remembered something important. “Follow me, Kamukura-kun!”

She ran eastward and into the thicket of Sakura trees. He supposed he had nothing better to do and simply followed the child without a second thought. Admittedly, it would be bad if she managed to got lost in this swamp so he naturally made sure to never let that happen.

When he entered the maze of trees and falling cherry blossom petals, the girl started to run away from him and giggle like a child. “C’mon, you slowpoke! Keep up!”

That insult was obviously wrong. He knows that he can catch up to her in no time when he decided to take this wild goose chase seriously but that would make things immediately boring, so he decides to give himself a handicap and pretend that she was the one winning this game while she frolicked around the scenery with no clear direction in mind.

Interestingly enough, he experienced a slight sense of nostalgia from this activity, as if he had already done this same exact thing with someone else…

Wanting to examine this interesting sense of déjà vu further, he continued to follow the little girl who now turned to a teenager for some irrational reason. Soon enough, he began to share the same excitement she had in frolicking in this swamp while tidbits of familiar scenery played in his head.

_”Catch me if you can, Kamukura-kun!”_

_“This is boring. I can catch you before you can even take 5 steps.”_

_…_

_“Awww, come on, Izuru-kun! Why won’t you take this more seriously?!”_

_”As I have told you, time and time again, this is boring. I am getting quite bored of this repetitiveness.”_

_”Y-You mean… you don’t enjoy playing with me anymore…?”_

_”As illogical as ever…”_

_…_

_“I fail to see why you think this swamp is beautiful. These cherry blossom petals do not match with the vibe one gets in a swamp.”_

_“Well, just because it doesn’t make sense doesn’t mean that it loses its beauty, Izuru. Don’t you think this would be interesting for you?”_

_“…I suppose so. Strange occurrences can be appealing to the senses as well…”_

_…_

Before he even knew it, he was seating beside Chiaki in front of the lake he was staring at before the little girl interrupted his musings. He still didn’t know who that girl was even though he had a feeling that he should. He let that mystery slide off his mind and continued to stare at the boring lake once more.

“They seem like blossoms,” she spoke with a wan smile. “Yet…”

“…Yet they are just illusions of snow…” he continued her observation without thinking about his response.

There’s that strange sense of déjà vu again. He felt like he had this conversation with her recently; if only he could just pinpoint exactly when…

“…It’s still pretty nonetheless, right Izuru?”

He didn’t answer her question, expecting that she would know how he would respond by now. Instead, he focused his attention on the person he was more interested in that anything else, Chiaki. She noticed this and met his gaze with a serious expression.

“What are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you be someplace else?”

The strange sensation ended when she had asked him that and he remembered why it seemed so vaguely familiar.

_No forgiveness for this endless love._

That’s right… this was the last time they visited their playground before they went on their mission to raid Junko’s fortress…

_My goddess never looked at me._

…Before he mercilessly impaled her with one of the swords given to them for their servitude.

With one frightful explosion, the blast tremor shook his dream world and the illusion he was trapped in was finally broken. Although he was disoriented by the sudden change of scenery, he still heard her voice, in two different versions.

“…I…love…you…Izuru…”

**Please don’t ever forget, that I’ll always be there for you.**

**No matter what.**

The rubble from above descended upon them and by instinct, he siphoned some of Chiaki’s remaining energy by kissing her and shielded them both with what little he had left. Boulders of concrete and marble broke through the forcefield he casted and he felt excruciating pain course through his spine as he fell deep into the bloody kiss. Even with his desperation for more energy to strengthen the forcefield, he was careful to leave some to keep her barely alive. 

The downpour of boulders ceased eventually and he broke off the kiss with a heavy pant. His back was in so much pain and that pain would increase a hundredfold every time he tried to move. 

Still, he had one last thing to do, as repentance. He planned to save her from the brink of death. The others would not be able to make it in time if he decided to wait.

With one swift pull, he removed the saber that was plugged in her body and hastily tossed it aside. It felt like someone was constantly hitting him on the back with a mace. He tried everything in his utmost power to shake those sensations off. This was truly an interesting challenge for someone like him...

…Was what his old self would say. This was different. He _had_ to save her.

After that he crawled over her body, placed two of his hands over the fatal wound, and healed her with a spell. This would ensure that she would be brought back to normal, but at a heavy cost. This cost would’ve meant nothing if Junko hadn’t weakened him. Now, he was just as mortal as a man in his fifties. 

As Izuru used his life energy to rejuvenate Chiaki, he felt the strength he had once leave his body as well as the injuries he sustained from protecting her becoming even worse than before. It took all of his willpower to push through this handicap and ascertain her recovery.

“I will not make the same mistake again...”

After some time, he stopped at the exact moment he judged it would be enough for her and rolled over his back to lay down on the carpeted floor. He looked over his left with the last of his strength and gripped her soft hand tightly as a ghost of a smile brushed over his lips in satisfaction of the knowledge that he had successfully saved her. He then closed his eyes…

Death? It was something he never considered once. His hubris that came from his analytical talents would tell him that he would live a long life. It was as if it was set on stone already. People with less human connections tended to live a longer life, unless their sanity fell victim to the effects of loneliness. Obviously, he didn’t care if he lived a life where he was alone neither if he lived a life with numerous human connections. Life would still remain as mundane as ever.

With the life he’d lived, he didn’t mind dying for a petty reason such as saving someone else less significant than he is. No, Chiaki is a woman destined to bring life to this desolate world. He can say this with absolute certainty because she was the one who brought life and color to his.

Life was jolted back into him as he heard frantic footsteps approach them. It had looked like they made it just in time.

How boring…

He remembered what he had said to her during that last visit.

_…Strange occurrences can be appealing to the senses as well…_

He wondered if those illusory blossoms symbolized this convenience.

* * *

“…AH!” 

Chiaki suddenly woke up from her bed with a loud shout and heavy breathing, thinking that that battle with Izuru was all just one horrible nightmare. She looked down under her blanket and lifted her shirt and saw no scars on her body. She let out a relieved sigh and plumped her head back on her pillow. Even though the memory was still fresh on her mind, she was thankful enough that the sights of her three dead friends were all fake as well.

If she looked to her right now, she would look at his handsome face and be reminded once more that it was just a bad dream…

…But he wasn’t.

The space on her left was noticeably empty and clean, like there were no signs of anyone sleeping beside her recently.

…

No… maybe he just woke up earlier than she did. Like always.

Stretching her limbs until a pop on her bones were heard, she kicked the blanket off her body and donned that same silky white dress that should have had tears around the torso and sleeve region. It was pristine and clean - untouched. While she was freshening up, she saw a piece of paper on the dresser that she and Izuru shared alongside with many other things in this sweet home by the swamp. Curious, she picked the paper up and read it in silence. 

_”I shall return in a week.”_

She slowly placed the paper back to its original spot in dejection. At the very least, she was thankful that he left a note for her just in case she was wondering where in the world could he have gone to. However, the fact that he never stated the reason why bothered her. She decides to trust that he has a very good reason for his leave and left their home.

* * *

A week didn’t take very long when people were immensely happy to see you up and about like nothing bad happened in the first place, because something DID happen. 

The news eventually arrived to Chiaki. The shock of hearing it after three days was even greater than the shock experiencing it first-hand. Her friends told her the whole story and she did not like it one bit. She was incredibly furious at what Junko done to her friends and that she killed herself in an attempt to bring Makoto and Kyoko along with her towards the afterlife. It turns out, that evil sorceress brainwashed Izuru as an exchange for losing her own sister as a pawn to use.

All her friends were glad to see that she was alive, most especially her old classmates. Due to the fact that she was the only one from that class who was sent to that excursion and survived, they were thankful. She knew that they kept the topic about Izuru out of their remarks of happiness. Apparently, they didn’t take the fact that he murdered three of their friends too greatly, as opposed to the news that she fought him and managed to live through it. They didn’t bother to ask how she survived; they were just happy to know that she was alive.

The whole week was full of joyful celebrations and sad funerals for the people who lost their lives from Junko’s attack. Because of this, it took her mind off of Izuru and what he had done to them for a while, only for it to come back and fill her with scary thoughts a day before his fateful return. As dusk drew closer on the sixth day, she refused to leave their home and basically holed herself up under her blanket, quaking in fear and disgust in herself.

All of this could have been prevented had she been more careful. Peko would’ve lived. Nekomaru would’ve lived. Gundham would’ve lived. They all would’ve returned, happily hearty about their triumph over despair and their loved ones wouldn’t have to be plagued with the reality that they were gone… forever.

She frantically wrapped herself with the blanket. Words and phrases of how useless and weak she was attacked her incessantly as she shivered under the blankets. She swore she could hear her dead friends chant monotonously at her while they tried to unravel her cocoon and drag her out of the bed.

“No! Please! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

**”YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED.”**

**”WHY DIDN’T YOU SAVE US?!”**

**”COME AND SUFFER WITH US, NANAMI.”**

She desperately struggled to keep herself covered under the sheets - trying to hide the ugly mess that was her. The invisible hands that were trying to expose her now became more frenzied. She could feel them actively hurt her by assaulting her with slaps and punches like a bunch of people beating up a little girl while she covered her defenseless body in vain. She wailed and sobbed as they continued to decorate her body with bruises. As this was all happening, she could hear that same bewitched laugh that took Izuru away from her play in repeat. 

She couldn’t take this anymore.

She couldn’t take this anymore.

She can’t take this anymore.

With one last scream, she bursted out of her covers and ran into the swamp in the middle of the night and refused to return.

* * *

Izuru finally returned from his quest to recover his power. He went through rigorous training and soul-searching to be brought back to his former glory, which ranged from bathing under cold waterfalls to obliterating hordes of iron golems with various weapons. 

He strolled through town and luckily, he came across no one. As soon as their house came into view, he briefly stopped in his tracks when he noticed that the door was left open. His eyes squinted and saw a set of human tracks with his improved vision leading into the swamp from their doorstep. Careful not to disrupt the tracks, he snuck into their household and searched for anything that looked out of place if someone other than Chiaki made the biggest mistake to intrude on their private property and pilfer something from them. So far, he found nothing of the sort, but that was until he stood in front of the door to their bedroom that was wide open.

An alarm set off in his mind. This wasn’t some simple act of thievery. It was possible that someone stormed into their house with the intention of assassinating her while she was alone. He mentally cursed himself for not taking precautionary measures and disregarding her safety, thinking that he could trust that she could handle herself. The deed might’ve already been done too...

He angrily stepped into the bedroom and the mess that was made in there confirmed his suspicions. Someone did attempt to kill, or at least kidnap her, while she was asleep. There were signs of struggle all over the room. He surmised that the attacker snuck into their room by the window and failed in trying to subdue her without creating a mess, possibly forgetting the fact that she was a trained soldier for battle which made her notice their presence. Since the closet door was ajar, he initially concluded that she immediately went for the weapon stashed in there to defend herself from her attacker. He was proven wrong upon seeing that the weapon was still inside. Perhaps, she was simply panicking at the moment and completely forgot about the weapon she had and opted to use the nearby objects to disarm the culprit, as evidenced by the broken objects scattered all over the wooden floor, or that she actually did go for the weapon but the culprit prevented her from doing so and created this mess in a struggle to gain the upper hand.

After the investigation in their room, he immediately went for the swamp and followed the tracks. From the state of these imprints on the soil, he deduced that these were made late at night or around midnight. Naturally, attacking at night was an optimal strategy to use when attempting assassinate someone or purloin something from a household. 

The tracks led to that familiar lake that was smack dab in the heart of the swamp. At the end of the pathway, he saw the form of a girl that looked like she was violated, lying motionless on her side on the ground that curved inwards to the perimeter of the circular body of water. He carefully approached her and examined her body to check if she was breathing. As he had hoped, she was still alive, but she was in a state of distress and trauma. Her eyes were wide open and her expression was blank while her body was noticeably trembling. Everything about her was all in disarray: her clothes, hair and short skirt. 

“Chiaki,” he called out to her. “What happened while I was gone?”

She was unresponsive.

“Chiaki,” he repeated. “What happened while I was gone?”

Still unresponsive. He went for physical contact. She visibly flinched and whimpered at his touch. He repeated his question once more. She answered this time albeit in a strained voice.

“…I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”

She sounded like a broken record to him. He didn’t quite understand the logic behind her apology. If anything, he should be the one apologizing to her…

…

…How could he forget? She tended to act out of her own emotions and never failed to find a reason to blame herself for anything bad that happened to her friends. It was always like her to take responsibility for actions, even those that she hadn’t directly influenced, just like a responsible leader or a doting mother.

He sighed and picked her up from the ground. As soon as he did, she slowly latched onto him like a sloth that hugged their trees. He supposes he can find out what happened later after he was done calming her down.

“It is fine now. I’m here for you. I’ll always be.”

He decided to act out of his emotions as well and opted to use contractions in his manner of speech, all the while gently caressing her back to calm her soft sobbing. The swamp’s famous snow began to fell and created the illusion of cherry blossom petals falling on them as he wandered around the forest for a little while longer with Chiaki who was now gently snoring near his ear.

Indeed, they were still pretty nonetheless.

**Author's Note:**

> *slaps roof of fic*
> 
> “This bad boy can fit so much f***ing despair and angst in it, it’ll make Junko cream her undergarments!”
> 
> Kidding aside, this is my attempt at a Kodaka-Level plot twist. Did you really think I’d hit you all with a simple ending? Oh no no, I wasn’t done torturing Chiaki just yet!
> 
> So yeah, I could have just used the last part of this fic and submitted it instead but I didn’t want to end this story on a tragic note.
> 
> Instead, I’m saving that bad ending for another fic that I’ll be working on in the near future.
> 
> By the way, I love making a lot of obscure video game references from the same underrated game and I put three - two in my previous entry and one here. Can you guess them?


End file.
